Christmas Shoes
by LostKey
Summary: It's Christmas Eve. A little walk turns into something more.


This was written before but it got accidentally deleted by someone... I finally found it and sort of edited it. Anyway, it was written before the new chapters of KHR came out so the ending might have been a bit strange. :) Enjoy! I do apologize for losing all the reviews and comments that previously went with this story. I'm sorry.

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It was a cold and windy evening. The streets of Italy were piled with snow as winter came around earlier than anticipated. But that did not dither the merry mood of the groups of shoppers and families moving through the streets. If anything, it seemed to make the mood even cheery than it already was. Gales of laughter from children rang like music in the air as they played around in the snow. Parents looked on while chatting with friends while couples enjoyed a quick holiday date together. Cafes were filled to the brim with costumers eager to get a small snack and warm drink. However, many people were still running around eager to get their hands of last minute gifts and items to prepare for the evening. For today was la vigilia di Natale, Christmas Eve. For many, there would be a big feast awaiting them at home with family and friends.

Amongst the crowd was a hit-man, Reborn, well known in circles of mafia families. He dressed simply but elegantly; a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt and black tie that was covered by an overcoat. On his head was a black fedora with an orange strip around it, finishing off the ensemble. He looked like he was heading to some party, very much like the other people passing by. He, too, was enjoying the rather cheerful atmosphere that his homeland provided, though it was impossible to tell with his fedora shadowing over his face.

Currently, he was walking towards a particular store that held a rather fine stock of _Nebbiolo_ wines, one of his and the Ninth's personal favorites. The reason for this was due to an invitation. He had been told, rather last minute if he would say so himself, that there was going to be a small party held within the Vongola family: a private gathering of sorts. It was set up by Iemitsu. The man said that he simply wanted to show them his kid and wife but if his memory served him correctly, most of them were probably possible candidates for the Arcobaleno project. A small frown marred his face. He knew the man was probably trying to disperse the depressing mood. He pushed that thought away before it could take hold of him. Today, he would ignore it…

As he turned a corner towards the shop, something collided into him. He held back the urge to take out his weapon, looking at what had crashed into him. He raised a thin brow in amusement. It was only a kid. The child was holding his head in pain as it seemed the crash hurt him a lot more than the adult. Upon closer inspection, he noted that the boy looked to be no older than seven or eight. He had rather unruly brown locks and the big caramel eyes. Out of courteousness he crouched and helped the boy up. Said boy eyed him cautiously, stand still as the hit-man brushed off the remnant snow that clung to the boy's clothing. Reborn gave a small frown, unsure about how to proceed. Rarely ever did he have to deal with kids considering his occupation. He looked at the child and sighed, "Stai bene?" (_Are you all right?)_ asked the man gruffly.

The boy stared, his brown eyes looking unwaveringly into his own. The hit-man could not help but feel as if he was being judged by those eyes. It was an unsettling feeling, as if the boy could see right through him. The only time he had ever felt something akin to this sensation was from two other people, one was the man who he now served while the other a woman. Then the boy blinked, the feeling disappeared instantly. Instead, the expression in the boys eyes was replaced by shyness. For some reason, Reborn felt a slight feeling of relief, but from what exactly?

The boy tilted his head slightly, a frown on his face, "S-Si…S-sto bene." _(Yes, I'm fine),_ stuttered the child, as if trying to sound out each word. The brunette looked down shyly.

Reborn raised his brow but did not comment, instead he stood up once again, absently ruffled the boy's hair, "Essere più attenti la prossima volta. Bene?" _(Be more careful next time. Okay?)_, chided the hit-man. What else was he suppose to say?

The boy gave a small pout at the light reprimand but nodded. The boy turned from the adult and began to walk, only to turn back and giving Reborn a bright grin. "La ri-ringrazio, sig-signor!" _(Thank you, Mr!)_, said the boy.

Reborn gave a small nod watching as the kid took off again, only to accidently slip on the snow. The boy quickly scrambled up, his face red with embarrassment before disappearing quickly into the throng of people. Reborn could not help but to give a small chuckle of amusement. He continued on his way, the store was right there and he rather not spent any more time than necessary outside. The incident completely slipped to the back of his mind.

Half an hour later, Reborn walked out of the store with a rather satisfied smirk. The clerk had been rather _kind_ in allowing him to purchase their oldest brew of Nebbiolo, forty years, at a rather low price and a free bottle of Barbera d'Asti as well. The two bottles were wrapped safely and tucked into a red gift bag. It was a negotiation well done. The crowd outside had yet to subside, instead, if anything, it had grown in size. Most were making their way to the designated house to celebrate. Many were carrying bags and wrapped trays filled with food and presents. He checked his watch; he still had a good while before his gathering started. He could take his time.

After walking some blocks down towards the location, he chanced to hear the sounds of sniffling. Strangely enough, it sounded rather familiar to the hit-man. It was coming from the direction of the gift store to his right. He frowned before checking his watch once more. He still had time. He walked over to investigate the sound. He threaded through the crowd before coming to a halt at the source of the voice.

To his surprise, it was the same kid from before. The child was crouching a few feet away from the store. It seemed like the kid had fallen some more after their encounter, as he spotted small scratches and scrapes on the kid's hands and face. The child had a forlorn expression on his face, staring at through the glass of the store. Evidence that the boy had been crying was shown by the slightly swollen eyes and red and runny nose.

Reborn, perhaps for the first time in a long time, hesitated. It was really not his style to help random strangers, even if they were kids. But for some odd reason he felt a compelling need to comfort this particular one. He sighed in resignation. Since nobody else seemed to notice the child, he had no choice, walking towards the child. Said kid seemed to feel that someone was approach him and turned from the glass pane. He looked up in confusion before faint recognition sparked in his eyes. He hastily clamored to his feet, almost tripping on himself in the process.

Reborn raised one brow in amusement before asking, "Che cosa sta facendo qui, figlio?" _(What are you doing here, child?)_ The kid looked down at his feet and was quiet. Reborn waited patiently after all, patience was a virtue.

After another moment, the boy began to speak spilling out everything, tears beginning anew, "Mama era malato per molti giorni. Ma ora, Mama è me-meglio…" _(Mama was sick for several days. But now, Mama is better.)_

Reborn raised his brow and waited for the boy to continue. The boy waved his small arms as he continued to explain, pointing towards the store, "Oggi, non c'è un-una cena par-parte. Ma mama no-no ha scarpe. Ho voluto acquistare la graziosa scarpe… Ma non ho abbastanza denaro…" _(Today, there is a dinner party. But Mama has no shoes. I wanted to buy the pretty shoes. But I do not have enough money.)_

Reborn crouched once more before the kid taking out a handkerchief from his pocket. With tenderness he did not know he possessed, he wiped away the child's tears and nose,"Non più lacrime. Bene? _(No more tears. Alright?)_, said Reborn in a stern voice.

The boy stared with wide eyes before nodding his head. Once the hit-man was sure that the boy had stopped crying he had the boy hold the kerchief. He then got up and looked through the glass window and the display case inside the store. He saw only one set of shoes that was on sale, "È quello rosso?" _(Is it the red one?)_, asked the hit-man, curiously. The boy nodded his head immediately.

Reborn chuckled quietly, "Soggiorno qui." _(Wait here.). _The boy nodded his head once more and stood where he was. Satisfied that the boy would not run off, Reborn walked into the store. Inwardly, he could not help but wonder why he was going so far for the kid.

The gift shop was pretty much empty as the rush of costumers had died down. The hit-man headed straight toward who he assumed was the store manager. He recognized the man from one of the alliance families of the Vongola. Said store manager instantly recognized him as well, visibly tensing, "Ciao, Signor... Come posso aiutare?" _(Hello, sir. How may I help you?),_ asked the manager politely, his eyes clearly showed his nervousness.

Reborn looked around before pointing towards the display case, "Vorrei acquistare le scarpe." _(I would like to buy the shoes.), _answered Reborn calmly. The manger raised his brow in surprise but did not question the demand. He valued his life enough to not ask; he would speculate though. In a matter of minutes the transgression was done and Reborn left as quickly as he came in, with another red gift bag.

Surprisingly, the boy had not budged at all from where he stood, determined to follow the man's order. However at the sight of the extra gift bag in the man's hand, the boy gave a loud shout of glee. He ran up to Reborn, all the while shouting his gratitude and thanks. Unbeknownst to himself, Reborn was smiling. He bent down to hand the boy the bag, all the while making sure to not mix his bag with the child's bag.

The boy was positively beaming with happiness, "Grazie, Signor. Grazie!" said the child once again, brown eyes shining with excitement and gratitude.

Reborn nodded before urging the child forward, "Affrettatevi e dia a vostra madre" _(Hurry up and give it to your mother.). _The boy nodded fervently and began walking before pausing to look up at the man.

Reborn raised his brow in question. Now what? In one quick motion, the boy ran to him and gave him a hug, much to the hit-man's surprise. "Grazie", whispered the child shyly before letting go. Reborn watched the boy disappear once more into the crowd, a tinge of sadness in his heart, not that he would ever admit it. He would probably never see the child again. He looked checked his watch once more before walking. He had just enough to make it to the party. As he drew closer to the mansion, snow began to drift down once more.

The party was really only a small gathering of people. Reborn looked around as he stood amongst the guests that have arrived, holding a glass of champagne in his hand. He had yet to drink from the glass as he looked around. Lal Mirch seemed to be having a stern talk to with his subordinate, Skull, who looked properly cowed by the woman. Lal had actually worn something classy for once and he had not hesitated to make passing comments, much to her embarrassment and annoyance.

Viper and Verde were having a heated discussion which had begun the moment the two had set sights on each other. Apparently Verde was still trying to haggle with Viper over the costs. From the looks of it, the green haired scientist was not getting far. Fong was talking with Luce and Collonello, laughter erupting every once in a while. What they were talking about that was so entertaining was beyond him. As it was, everybody but the Ninth and Iemitsu had arrived. Apparently there was an incident where the child of the CEDEF leader had gone missing. They had only just found him, not that it was his problem. A couple of minutes later, the doors open to reveal the Ninth and Iemitsu, who had his wife in his arms. The woman was a petite Japanese woman with short brown hair. She was dressed in a sleeveless red dress and a white beaded rose shawl. Most of them turned to greet the Vongola Boss and the CEDEF leader, Reborn included.

"Welcome. I would like to introduce everybody to these two guests that will be joining us today. Iemitsu," said the Ninth Vongola with a small smile.

Iemitsu grinned, "This is my lovely wife, Sawada Nana. She had recently caught a terrible cold and I could not show her off to you until now."

Nana giggled softly before giving a small bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you all," greeted the lady with a kind smile. There was a murmur of greetings before Iemitsu continued, "I would also like to introduce my cute son, Tsunayoshi."

There was a pregnant pause as they all waited only to see no one. Iemitsu rolled his eyes while Nana laughed. With a small push from his father, Tsunayoshi was moved from his hiding place behind his mother.

Unbeknownst to his companions, Reborn was eyeing the kid in shock. It was the same unruly hair and giant eyes as from before. Now that he took a closer look at the shoes that Iemitsu's wife wore, it was the same one he had just bought. There was no denying that it was the same kid. Why in the world was he roaming the streets by himself? "Tsu-Kun, say hi to all the people." encouraged Nana.

Tsuna kept his head down and managed to say a quick hello before ducking his head again, much to the amusement of the majority of the people there.

"Your son is adorable," said Luce with a smile.

Nana gave a small smile before urging her child to speak once more "Tsu-kun, look up and say it this time. Okay?"

Tsuna pouted but this time he looked up, "Hello! My name is Tsuna."

Talk about coincidence, there was no denying that it was the same boy. Said kid, seemed to notice him as well and his eyes widened in surprise. The next thing that happen shocked all that was present. Before Nana could tell her son to stop, the boy ran right up to the man that was well know and fear as the world greatest hit-man and hugged him. "Hi Mr. We got to see each other again!" said the boy happily. The child did not notice the looks of surprise and outright disbelief that was evident in the faces of the hit-man's companions.

The Ninth was first to speak, looking very amused at the uncomfortable look in the man's eyes, "Reborn, I did not realize that you two had already met," commented the Vongola.

"We just chanced to meet," said Reborn, averting his eyes. He could see Lal and Collonello smirking with evident glee. He was never going to here the end of this.

Iemitsu, after getting over the initial shock, laughed in amusement, "Well. It seems like he's completely attached to you. Maybe you should watch over him."

Reborn furrowed his brow in annoyance, "I am a hit-man, not a babysitter."

Iemitsu shrugged a knowing smile on his face, "You can't be so sure of the future now."

"We'll see," said the hit-man with a small frown, looking at the kid that was still holding on to him.

Little did they know that one day, Reborn would actually be Tsuna's tutor, working with him to make the brunette into the next Vongola, The Vongola Decimo.

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Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a critique or comment! :)


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